Work and Play
by WyseInk
Summary: Natsu is busy training. Lucy has other ideas.


Lucy had told him he was dense enough times that at some point it'd finally stuck. Natsu knew there were things that went over his head-little details she always picked out that he tended to miss. Sometimes, things went the opposite way-while Lucy was sharper when it came to books, planning, and negotiating, his senses were more keen, and that included being able to detect when she stood behind him, trying and failing to be subtle as she set down whatever she'd been carrying on the desk beside the frame where the doorway used to be. The scent of paper and ink told him it was her notebook.

He let out a short breath and pulled himself upward once and twice again, bringing his chin level with the bar. It was something they'd added to their house not long after tying the knot, and had helped to relieve some of the newfound issues that had come with living together permanently. Lucy had quickly grown tired of him training in both her room and living room, and had made some surprisingly colorful comments about his habit of doing sit-ups in their bed. The compromise had been converting the spare room at the end of the hall into a gym and training space for both and Happy when he wanted to join. With their friend having already made himself at home in the guest room near theirs, it had been a better solution than they could've hoped for. Lucy could use their bedroom to write and read at the station she'd already had, and he and Happy could wander about and train without disturbing her.

"I want to try."

Natsu smirked, glancing behind him before dropping to the ground. "You want to?" he asked and turned to her. She cocked her hip to the side, resting her knuckles against it firmly and giving a slight smile. The gesture was more than enough to draw attention to herself: the way her light blue shorts-or underwear, he wasn't sure-sat low on her hips and high on her legs, and the way her white t-shirt hugged her curves.

"I said I did, didn't I?" she said, hesitating for a moment before taking a step forward. He watched in amusement as she gathered her hair and tied it back in a ponytail. Once she was finished she paused, meeting his gaze with a challenging look in her eye. "You don't think I can do it."

"I didn't say that."

"You hesitated." She stopped near him, glancing up at the bar above her. Natsu took in the slight purse of her lips as she started to reach upward and stopped.

"What's the matter?" he asked, not bothering to hide his smirk.

"I didn't realize we'd put it up this high."

"Nah, that's not high. That's where they usually are." He chuckled as she pursed her lips and took a step behind her. Taking her by the waist he waited until she bent her knees, then hoisted her up as she jumped. He watched as her hands gripped at the bar, and once she was secure, he let her go and took a step to the side. She moved slightly, glancing up at the bar and swinging her feet back and forth. "What 'cha waiting for?"

The look she gave him then made him laugh, and after dangling there for a moment longer, a smile crossed her face too.

"Don't make me laugh or I won't be able to do it at all," she said, shifting her weight as much as she could from one hand to the other. A look of determination crossed her face and she wiggled again, knees bending and feet meeting each other behind her as she began to hoist herself up. Three, four inches higher she rose and managed to reach halfway before her arms began to shake and she lowered herself again, letting out a tired breath. "It's not as easy as it looks, is it?"

"Nope." Before she could react, he took a step closer and jumped, swinging onto the bar directly in front of her. Her face flushed as they collided slightly, and it didn't take long for the feeling of her breath against his lips to set his mind ablaze. He could hear her heartbeat quickening at their sudden closeness, and even if she didn't quite have his hearing, he was sure his own was loud enough for her to hear, too. As if confirming this, she leaned in so close that their lips nearly brushed. "Luce…"

In a flash she shifted again, this time swinging herself towards him and wrapping her legs around his waist. Feeling her ankles lock behind him he blinked, and despite her blush she kept her warm, chocolate-colored eyes trained on his. There it was again, he thought as her lashes lowered slightly. That look was one of his favorites of hers. He still remembered all too clearly when she'd first given it to him that night she and the other girls from the guild had had too much to drink. Even then, he'd only fully understood it much later, in the early morning hours of their wedding night. "Are you going to help me up or are we just going to hang here?"

Natsu only knew one response to that. With a grunt he tightened his core and pulled upward as she did the same opposite him. They reached the bar's level easily (_too_ easily?), and the second they'd lowered themselves again, they repeated twice, a third, and a fourth time. He wondered what must be going through her mind as they lowered themselves and rose again and again. He knew what was going through his and guessed from the look in her eye that she did, too.

"Natsu, Lucy, I-oh."

Lucy yelped and quickly released him, and Natsu craned his neck to take in his friend's small form in the doorway. Happy's eyes were wide, and he brought a small paw up to his mouth in a mix of amusement and embarrassment.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Happy said, a huge grin crossing his face as Lucy groaned at the way he emphasized the last word.

"Nah, buddy. We're just getting our reps in!"

"Natsu, oh my God," Lucy hissed, and he dropped to the floor, ducking as she kicked at him.

The Exceed glanced from Natsu, to Lucy, to the former again as he continued. "I was just going to tell you we're out of fish and ask if you wanted to go to the store, but I think I already know the answer. I wouldn't want to interrupt your 'reps.'"

Natsu watched Lucy squirm in his peripheral vision as Happy waved and strode out of the room. Once his footsteps had faded, he heard Lucy sigh.

"That's it. We're adding a door to every room in this house," she grumbled as he approached her.

"Every room, huh?" He pinched at the back of her thigh as she glanced down at him knowingly. He reached up then, catching her as she let herself go and lowering her to the floor.

"Unless you have another idea."

"I've got a few." Tugging at the pale blue fabric along her hip, he stooped and nipped at her ear. With a yelp, she slapped his shoulder, her face burning so intensely that he felt her heat throughout his entire body, too. Her fingers tangled in the back of her hair as she pressed her lips against his ear, her voice the kind of murmur that could drive him wild when she spoke.

"Think we can try any before he gets back?"

If she'd expected him to respond, she didn't wait for it. Instead, she lowered her hands to his wrists and led him out of the room.


End file.
